DAVID SHUSTER: In an effort at damage control, the Susan G. Komen Foundation made a huge reversal today, but in this case, their cure may be too late to save the group's reputation. In our third story on the "Countdown" — the world's largest breast-cancer research organization made a U-turn this morning and apologized for originally deciding to cut off funds to Planned Parenthood for breast-cancer screenings.
In a written statement Komen said, "We will continue to fund existing grants, including those in Planned Parenthood and preserve their eligibility to apply for future grants." The group also vowed to amend the criteria to make clear that disqualifying investigations must be "criminal and conclusive in nature and not political because that is what is right and fair."
By all accounts, Komen is the most widely-known and well-funded breast-cancer organization in the world. To date, their campaigns have raised $1.9 billion, and in recent years Komen's pink ribbons and pink partnerships have become part of our cultural fabric. Komen convinced Major League Baseball to show solidity with the group's mission through pink baseball bats. There have been pink yogurt lids as part of a donation effort to "save lives." Kentucky Fried Chicken rolled out pink buckets for the cure, and even Delta got involved through pink airline flights.
In September, an ardent pro-life Republican in the House launched his own investigation of abortion services performed by Planned Parenthood, and three days ago — citing that investigation — Komen severed its ties to Planned Parenthood. And the revolt from Komen donors and supporters alike was immediate and fierce. Reaction poured out across Twitter, Facebook, Komen's own message boards. Over two dozen lawmakers signed on to a letter urging Komen to reverse its decision.
Planned Parenthood kept the social media momentum going, retweeting positive messages, sharing news links, and reminding people across the internet how to donate and make up for Komen's cuts.
Komen responded defensively, and then, couldn't get its story straight. On Wednesday, Komen CEO Nancy Brinker delivered a YouTube message claiming that grant rules ban funding for groups under investigation. Brinker did not mention Planned Parenthood once, though she said Komen will "never bow to political pressure."
On Thursday, Brinker insisted Komen didn't cut off funds because of their "no investigation" rule, which they only enforced in Planned Parenthood's case, but that Komen was simply "streamlining" the grant process and that the public was "totally supportive."
(Excerpt from video clip) ANDREA MITCHELL: Look at you Facebook page. Your Facebook page has people cutting pink ribbons in half.
(Excerpt from video clip) NANCY BRINKER: Well, Andrea —
(Excerpt from video clip) MITCHELL: Your branding is at stake.
(Excerpt from video clip) BRINKER: All I can tell you is that we are — the responses we're getting are very, very favorable.
SHUSTER: So favorable that, less than 18 hours after that interview, Komen decided to reverse course and apologize. As for Planned Parenthood, the Komen miscue the past few days prompted a flood of donations totaling more than three million dollars. Joining us now is Jess McIntosh, deputy communications director for EMILY's List. Jess, thanks for your time tonight.
JESS McINTOSH: Thanks for having me.
SHUSTER: Is Komen really sorry, or are they just really sorry that, in this world of social media, they called out on it so quickly and powerfully?
McINTOSH: Look, I think they totally underestimated the backlash, and this just goes to show the power of activists and donors and elected officials when they put the pressure on.
But, what matters now is what happens next. And frankly, women are sick of having to fight back every time our health care is threatened. And frankly, the most effective way to do that is to elect more pro-choice, Democratic women to Congress in the first place, so we can stop these attacks at their source. That's the mission of EMILY's List and what we're hoping to do more of in 2012.
SHUSTER: There's still seems to be, though, a threat from Komen in the future. I mean, their statement today indicates that Planned Parenthood will be eligible to apply for grants, but the statement does not guarantee that Planned Parenthood will receive funding in the future. Isn't this a problem?
McINTOSH: I mean, I think that it's certainly a case for us to remain vigilant, but we're pro-choice women. Vigilance is sort of what we do. I think that this was a PR disaster for Komen, but whenever you adopt a tea party ideology, it's usually a PR disaster. I mean, remember "ending Medicare as we know it?" That was a PR disaster. The attempts to redefine rape, that was a PR disaster. Cutting off funding for Planned Parenthood is usually a PR disaster, so you think that they would have learned their lesson by now, but I guess not.
SHUSTER: It certainly, though, it feels different. I mean, Planned Parenthood has long drawn the wrath of the anti-abortion movement, as well as congressional Republicans who attempted to strip Planned Parenthood of funding entirely with an amendment that House Republicans tacked onto a federal funding bill, and that issue even threatened a government shutdown. What happened in this particular case? What was it about this issue that caused this kind of backlash?
McINTOSH: Look, this is just the latest in a long litany of Republican attempts to curtail women's access to health care. And every time they try, we fight back. And every time we fight back, we get a little better and we get a little stronger. I mean, at EMILY's List alone, since Boehner took over for — as speaker, we've doubled our membership. So, the next time we have to fight this fight, we're going to do it at one million strong, and we're ready for the next round.
SHUSTER: Not everybody was thrilled with Komen's reversal today. Senator David Vitter of Louisiana who, merely days ago, approved Komen's actions, said today in a press release, "While Komen now claims that they don't want their mission to be marred by politics, unfortunately it seems that Komen caved to political pressure from the pro-abortion movement and its enforcers in the media." What do you make of that?
McINTOSH: Yeah, David Vitter was the only one who didn't get the memo that Republicans weren't supposed to crow about Komen cutting off funding for Planned Parenthood. Look, Republicans — and Republican men in particular, and David Vitter in particular — are hellbent on cutting off access to women's health care, and frankly, we're hellbent on fighting back. So, I urge you and your viewers to check out our awesome female candidates at emilyslist.org. If we can — if we can replace some of these guys with Democratic women who are actually going to stand up and support women and families, wouldn't that be an awesome thing?
SHUSTER: And, of course, never mind replacing a Republican congressman like Congressman Sterns, who launched this ridiculous investigation in the fall, anyway. What about replacing the leadership of Komen? I mean, it's traditionally been sort of a nonpartisan organization. There are lots of Democrats who wear the pink ribbons, and on and on. Does something need to be done with their leadership at this point?
McINTOSH: It's true. It's true. And I think that — I mean, that's going to be up to Komen's supporters. I think that it's been amazing to see the outpouring of support for Planned Parenthood. I think that people know how to show their advocacy with tweets and with dollars, and I think we're going to see more of that and they'll make their decisions based on — based on their base.
SHUSTER: Jess McIntosh. Jess, thank you so much. We appreciate your time tonight.
McINTOSH: Thanks for having me.
SHUSTER: You're welcome.
